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By Category: Policy & Initiatives

FDA found more than smallpox vials in storage room

(Washington Post) Federal officials found more than just long-forgotten smallpox samples recently in a storage room on the National Institutes for Health campus in Bethesda, Md. The discovery included 12 boxes and 327 vials holding an array of pathogens, including the virus behind the tropical disease dengue and the bacteria that can cause spotted fever,  Read More »

Anthrax Mishandled by U.S. CDC Labs Before Exposure, Report Says

(Bloomberg) Scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stored deadly anthrax in unlocked refrigerators in an unrestricted hallway and moved the bacteria in Ziploc bags, according to the latest report to criticize government workers’ handling of microorganisms. The audit, by a team from the Department of Agriculture, was delivered to the CDC  Read More »

U.S. officials purge biosafety board in midst of anthrax crisis

(Reuters) Federal officials, amid the worst U.S. biosafety crisis in years, have dismissed 11 eminent scientists from a 23-member panel that advises the government on how and whether research on dangerous pathogens should be conducted. The purged members were informed that their service was no longer needed via an email on Sunday night from Mary  Read More »

CDC Closes Labs After Anthrax, Bird Flu and Small Pox Scares

(The Wire) Days after the discovery of small pox vials in a NIH medical laboratory in Bethesda, the Center For Disease Control announced Friday that labs connected to anthrax and bird flu scares would be temporarily closed. “These events should never have happened,” CDC Director Tom Frieden said in a call with reporters Friday. The  Read More »

Biosecurity overhaul flagged

(The Land) New powers allowing the Commonwealth to respond to biosecurity risks within Australia and help state and territory governments manage a pest or disease outbreak are among the changes included in a planned overhaul of quarantine legislation. Federal Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce has announced the government’s plans to progress the Biosecurity Bill 2014 to  Read More »

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